Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies - From Scratch!

Prep:30minCook:14min

Deliciousness made with all-natural flavoring - triple lemon! Melt-in-your-mouth Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies at their finest and from scratch. What could be better? Our recipe was reverse engineered from standard recipes for Gooey Butter Cookies calling for boxed yellow cake mix. The result is simply a sublime buttery, light and tender-crumbled cookie sweetened just right and full of lemon flavor. You can’t just have one!

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 19:18:04 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Glycemic Load

Moderate

Nutrition per serving

Calories146.3 kcal (7%)

Total Fat6.1 g (9%)

Carbs21.7 g (8%)

Sugars14.4 g (16%)

Protein1.7 g (3%)

Sodium118.3 mg (6%)

Fiber0.3 g (1%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

30 servings

270gbleached all-purpose flour

8gbaking powder

226gcream cheese

softened

½ cupunsalted butter

softened

300ggranulated sugar

12glemon zest

freshly grated, from 2 large lemons

22.5mllemon juice

freshly squeezed

5mlpure vanilla extract

⅛ tsplemon oil

⅛ tspyellow gel based food coloring

natural

4.8gfine-grain sea salt

or 3/4 tsp regular table salt

1 cupconfectioners’ sugar

sifted

Instructions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder until we’ll blended. Set aside.

Step 2

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle arrangement, or handheld electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until we’ll blended, creamy and smooth. Beat in sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, lemon oil, food coloring and salt; mix until well combined, light and fluffy, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula when necessary. Add egg and egg yolk and beat in well until creamy and light, about 1-2 minutes on medium speed.

Step 3

On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and mix until just fully incorporated. Dough will be very sticky. Cover work bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Step 4

Meanwhile, arrange oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 325F (165C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Place confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl; set aside.

Step 5

Measure enough dough to roll into generous 1-inch (2.5cm) balls, using a 1-1/3 inch (3.3cm) spring loaded cookie scoop (or by measuring a generous tablespoon of dough with a measuring spoon) making sure each scoopful is in equal amounts. This is important for evenly baked cookies.

Step 6

Roll dough between palms of hands to achieve a small rounded ball and then roll in confectioners’ sugar to lightly coat. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches (5cm) apart.

Step 7

Bake in preheated oven until cookies have spread into round cookie shapes and are puffed and crackly, about 14 minutes. Do not overbake. The cookies will still be soft in the centers. If they start to brown around the edges, they have baked too long. The underside of the cookies should be only very lightly browned.

Step 8

Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Then, carefully remove cookies from baking sheet using a thin metal cookie spatula and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cooled, transfer cookies to an airtight container. Repeat with remaining dough on prepared cookie sheets.

Step 9

If desired, chill cookies in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Before serving, dust cookies with additional confectioners’ sugar. Serve cookies chilled or at room temperature.

Step 10

Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies

Step 11

Cookies will keep up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.